Días del Muerto
by Helen1969
Summary: "The Days of the Dead": During the events of Frozen Harvest, across the galaxy at the end of known space, a gate began to open... now, once a year, something haunts the corridors of the Arcadia on the anniversary of the Battle for Earth, during the Graveyard Shift - the same hour the previous captain is said to have died and then vanished. (CGI-verse)
1. Day 1

_Every once in a while whilst working on a big project, I need a break. To try something a little out of the ordinary, and set myself a little challenge to keep my aging brain firing._

 _So what follows is little sequence of vignettes - the sketches and studies that help inform my longer works - set between Frozen Harvest and Corpse Flower which sprang mostly out of emails and comments from the ever-helpful and supportive Pollywantasaharlock - and occasionally inspired by something she wrote…!_

 _I set myself a rough word count (the sharp eyed will notice this was the first casualty of the contact betwixt fingers, brain and keyboard…!) and a few other little milestones, and tried to write one a day, and she very kindly agreed to be my guinea pig and commented on the results. Her unflagging enthusiasm kept me going on this, and so once again I find myself dedicating a fic to her!_

 _Without further preamble, here's day 1 of 12. Posted as written - 1 per day - a kind of mini Harlock advent calendar… Happy Solstice 2016, dear readers!_

* * *

2978.

On a ship of shadows, one more could go un-noticed.

Dissolving out of the darkness, fading into the light.

There were unfamiliar faces on the bridge. He stood in the shadows cast by the skull fronted upper gantry and stared around the bridge in bemusement.

 _Was that a girl_? He snorted, unheard.

 _Should have known the rot would set in…_

The girl in red brushed past him without turning so much as a ginger hair. Her arm should have elbowed him in the side.

It passed straight through him.

He looked down, insubstantial as mist even to his own eye. _Huh…_

On the upper bridge all was silent, and he wandered away from the skeleton crew who'd drawn the midnight watch, and took the stairs up to the place he'd died.

Twice.

 _Funny… I don't feel dead…_

His cloak lay draped over the back of his chair, just as if someone had casually thrown it over the carved wood as they walked past. Both chair and wheel were unoccupied, and he lay an insubstantial hand on the worn baluster of the wheel, expecting his hand to pass straight through it.

His hand brushed against the wood, faint traces of blue lightning trailing in its wake. But the ship held course, creaking and groaning in the quiet of the graveyard shift. _Still holding her on course, my friend?_

There was no answer. The presence in his mind, a constant voice for over a century, was quiet. Or gone.

 _Has that bond been severed as well?_

He turned to leave, sparing a glance to the pale blue globe that controlled the dark matter engine. Even this was quiescent, unguarded. _Mimay_?

He felt her presence, across the ship. _In their quarters_?

Maybe _she_ could see him… He decided to take a look.

* * *

A blink of an eye, and he was outside his old doors.

Well, that was good to know. No need to walk anywhere… _Like the doors of an ancient castle_. And they had been, he recalled… Somehow in the reshaping that had followed the pain of dissolution and rebirth, the gates to the family home in Heiligenstadt had been recreated in all their Gothic folly on board the insane hybrid the dark matter had pulled out of his and Tochiro's memories…

He walked through them.

He looked around the room, at once so familiar and not. Women's clothing piled on the bed? He leaned over to peer, and stood back up, wondering if he blushed as a ghost or whatever… _Blue satin briefs. Huh_. Given the leather trousers and more obviously masculine sized sweater on the floor, he could only hope they didn't belong to the kid he'd left in charge…

The sheets were crumpled and the pillows scattered in abandon across the bed.

 _Jump in my grave as quick, Yama?_

Short brown hairs on one, long blonde on the other.

 _Jump my XO as quick?_ But his mouth curled unbidden into a quirky smile.

Two sets of drawers now. One neatly stowed, the other with a couple of drawers hanging open. Two chairs at his old antique desk. The one that his father had sat at… a conceit, bringing it on board, given the weight and size, but he'd inherited so little apart from a drafty pile of stone in Bavaria that swallowed money like a black hole, that Tochiro hadn't begrudged having it placed in his quarters on Deathshadow 4 when he'd taken command…

Three wine glasses - empty - were on the edge of the desk. Two on coasters, one noticeably not and his lip curled into a slight snarl at the sight of a faint ring on the ancient oak. He instinctively reached out to move it, surprising himself when he was actually able to move the glass onto a nearby flimsy.

Voices. From his bathroom. A feminine squeal and a splash. Male laughter, and Mimay's bell-like gaiety, which he'd heard so rarely since…

... _since_ …

Like a moth to a flame, he moved towards the partly open door, and peered round.

 _His damn hot-tub as well? Was nothing sacred?_

Tochiro's "gift" for his birthday, not long after their first battle on board. An extravagance on a spaceship, even more so than the desk, but he hadn't complained. Though how the little guy had gotten that through procurement was a mystery he'd never gotten to the bottom of. His questions had just earned a smirk and a shrug.

Kei. Smiling. Laughing.

Something she'd so rarely done for as long as he'd known her. The solemn little waif who'd stared him down with bruised cobalt blue eyes so long ago and declared all she wanted was to be free had never unleashed that smile on him…

 _...if she had, I might have been tempted to break a cardinal rule after all…_

Did dead loins tighten?

 _She's beautiful…_

Her hair was longer. She'd allowed it to grow to almost cover her pink, full nipples. Wet hair occasionally drifted to uncover those little pearls and he took an involuntary step towards the tub.

 _...so like her ancestor… Maya._

Maya had looked at him once, the way Kei looked at Yama. Smiling tenderly as though he was the centre of her world. Planting a teasing kiss on his mouth and swirling her tongue against his, uninhibited and demanding.

 _...Maya… Her long hair cut short, holding a pistol on him, begging him to leave..._

 _...Two little girls so like their mother - and five years too young to be_ his _..._

 _Bury that. Again_. And Yama…?

 _Harlock._

 _Huh. Not getting used to that in a hurry..._ Yama was wearing it better than he'd thought he would. The wary diffidence was gone, along with that constant air of befuddled hurt the kid had carried around like a shield. Confident, calmer, with a few lines of care now in a face that looked a lot younger than his quarter-century.

 _Runs in the family_ …

He watched, a shadow in a blaze of light, as Yama blushed all over when Mimay reached over to lay a slim hand on his shoulder. _Still got no boundaries, I see… well, you'll get over it. It's like having a human-sized kitten..._

Kei seemed to have fewer problems with the naked Nibelung, but the watcher snorted as she slapped one wandering paw away from her property with a mock growl that provoked a sly smile from the offender and a nervous laugh from Yama. _Figures. Always did take charge that one, once she got her head straightened out…_ He shook his head, remembering. _Bossy. And smart._ And an ass to die for when wriggling in his line of sight on the bridge… _Far too smart to have an ass like that… or tits… Yeah. Eyes up there, and try not to snarl watching a woman who's the living spit of your ex shoving that altogether too ample cleavage into the face of an undeserving boy…_

Mimay reached over for the bottle of his one hundred and twenty year old Sauternes and froze in the act of lifting it.

The last thing he saw before he faded back into the darkness was that bottle dropping from her fingers to smash on the floor, the amber liquid running in a tiny trail towards the doorway he'd been standing in.

 _What a waste… That bottle had been a wedding present…_ was his last, incongruous thought.


	2. Day 2

2979.

On a ship of shadows, who'd notice one more?

 _Mimay. Apparently._ Busy at her station, her hands dancing over the blue lightning to control the dark matter engine, she did a double take as he appeared and smiled. Any attempt to speak however was forestalled by a blast which rocked the ship, and she was forced to turn her attention fully to her charge.

He stood on the edge of the bridge, slightly behind the captain's chair, and watched the battle unfold on the viewscreen with critical amusement. His crew…

... _Yama's_ crew…

...performed their roles with admirable efficiency. From the lower deck he heard the unmistakable sounds of Ali's gruff voice spitting out orders and complaints almost in the same breath, and smiled to himself. _some things never change…_

'Seriously, could you just give your mouth a rest and let the rest of us get on with our jobs, just once?'

 _Good luck with_ that…

An unfamiliar female voice from Kei's station. _Oh._ The red-head… A little older - just starting to… bloom. Yep. That was the word… Just at the age where tits, ass and attitude combined to produce a powder keg of hormones and temper… He listened in as she laid about her giving crisp orders with a voice dripping with disapproval at the idiots she had to work with...

'Emeraldas - less commentary, a little more attention to the job in hand!' Yama rapped out, even as he span the wheel to starboard.

The watcher winced. _Seriously? I hope you handle Kei a little more gently than you do my bloody ship, kid… gently, don't maul her… she'll give you everything if you treat her with a bit of tenderness…_

Where was Kei?

'Seriously? Stop hauling this ship around like a ham-fisted virgin!'

 _Thanks, Yattaran… you tell him…_

'Well perhaps if you could get the port thrusters back online I wouldn't _have_ to haul it around like a whale!' Yama shot back with a growl, as he span the wheel around again to avoid a series of shots from the ships bearing down on them. Somewhere along the line he'd lost the eyepatch, and his scarred right eye was obscured slightly by his hair falling over it unheeded, plastered into place by the blood seeping from a gash running from his brow to his hairline.

The watcher took a step towards the wheel.

 _Instinct_.

But no-one would hear him or see him, so what good would it do?

He looked at the screen. Five ships now coming to bear on the Arcadia. Large, an unfamiliar configuration. Blocky, workmanlike… not Gaia fleet - he'd know those.

Not totally unfamiliar…

 _Dark matter._

'...uckin' machinners…' he heard Ali growl from below. 'No offence, yer highness!'

'None taken, Ali. Seems my mother wasn't happy about me forgetting her birthday. Again!' Scattered laughter from the crew, and a shared wry smile with Yama.

'They just don't know when ter quit,' Yattaran added. 'Queen really wants a piece of us this time, eh, Captain?'

Yama laughed harshly. 'Guess she still hasn't forgiven me for taking out that fleet around Grand Technologia a few months back. What's the bounty standing at these days?'

'Two years worth of energy capsules. Each. That's for you an' Kei an' Red here, of course,' Yattaran replied with a smirk. 'Rest of us are on a sliding scale - though rumour has it Ali's warrant specifies "gagged"...'

The bridge crew laughed at the blond crewman's spluttering "hey!"

'Then we make them earn it. Mimay - I need as much as you can give me. Yattaran -' he re-arranged his hands on the balusters, taking a firmer, but rather less aggressive hold - 'since our friend is offline, I'll need that simulation for the blade formation you wrote. Prepare for ramming attack! We'll take out that control ship then come around for the rest!'

 _Ramming attack…? What the fuck is the brat sniffing? You don't go head on… rip the flank out, sure, she can take the damage..._

'Worst bloody timing, picking the one time the Central Computer takes itself offline..' Ali grumbled.

'And Kei still on Tabito with Selen…' the girl - _Emeraldas_? added, with a disapproving sniff.

'Think of it as an opportunity to impress me,' Yama replied grimly. 'Yattaran - where's my big black -?'

'Penis extension?' Ali called up, to laughter from the crew.

'Don't make me come down there and hurt you…' Yama shot back testily, occasioning more scattered laughter as he guided the Arcadia with elegant precision out of the way of another salvo. _Port thrusters are back online… okay.. maybe you aren't as ham fisted as I feared… that was actually rather impressive. .._

'On it, on it… ya do know we haven't tested this programme in combat yet…?'

He looked on as the dark matter cloud outside thickened and coalesced. On the screen, the top elevation cameras relayed the image of a massive curved blade forming at the bow.

'Front battery - fire! Gravity anchor - on my mark. Three. Two. One!' the girl called out.

 _Weaken the enemy hull… then latch on… so now what…?_

Under Yama's hands the Arcadia flipped round and over gracefully, and dived towards the top elevation of the largest vessel. The heads-up showed the sight of the point of the blade entering the enemy ship, gutting it like a fish, slicing from stern to bow and slicing through the superstructure. The ship broke apart and the Arcadia shook itself free of the wreckage.

 _Oh…_ that _is totally cool…_

 _Now why didn't_ I _think of it…?_

He watched, noticing the tight formation the enemy ships held break up… central control coordinated by the ship they'd just totalled? Interesting… not a Gaia Fleet tactic… He smiled with pride as his gun crew…

 _Yama's now._

... picked them off neatly. Ali seemed to be working in tandem with a gruff old timer with bushy grey muttonchops who looked vaguely familiar…

 _Commander Levary? Last time he'd seen the Fleet number two he'd been shoved into the brig after they'd taken the Oceanos in tow…_

'Mimay - any hint from Tochiro as to when he'll grace us with his presence again?' Yama sounded weary, and he noticed the young captain was using the wheel to stay upright.

 _Yep.. it has many uses.. looking cool whilst half dead on your feet is number three on the list, for the record, Yama…_

'Harlock.'

They both gave her their attention as she glided towards them. Her cat-like eyes flickered briefly to the watcher's ghostly form before settling on Yama.

'You do know what day this is? Earth time?' She spoke softly, and again, her eyes flickered between the two of them, though Yama, his eye following her quick gaze, seemed to see straight through him and just frowned slightly. He shook his head. 'This is the day of the battle for Earth. The day…'

'My brother and Harlock died,' Yama completed the sentence quietly.

 _Oh_ … Beat.

 _Priorities…? That bastard screwed you over and would have shot you in the back if I hadn't drilled him…_

'It's also the hour _he_ left us…' Mimay whispered sadly, looking at him.

'That's why Tochiro's not responding?' Yama asked. She nodded, not taking her sad eyes off the watcher.

 _Wait… is that how I…?_

Darkness.


	3. Day 3

2980

On a ship full of shadows, one, a little darker than the rest, coalesced out of the gloom in a corridor lit only by emergency lighting.

A scream - high pitched, thin…

 _A child?_

...penetrated a nearby door which was open a crack. The lights inside were out, and the screaming turned to frantic, panicked sobbing.

 _What the hell…?_

Ali's muscled torso topped by mussed blond hair appeared out of a door across the corridor.

 _Damn, Ali... you_ 're a mess... bruises, cuts and abrasions covered most of his chest and abdomen, and when he turned, his back was a mess of crisscrossed slashes... 'What the hell?' He tapped a nearby comm port. 'Oi - Doscoi - what are you guys playing at in Engineering? The bloody lights tripped in the officers' quarters! What surge? Yeah - well get 'em back, pronto.' Muttering under his breath he nipped back into his quarters, then came back out with a flashlight in hand and charged across the corridor to the room where sounds of sobbing still issued from inside.

'Oi, oi… what's the matter, little Meggie?'

The watcher moved silently to the doorway to take a look inside.

 _Just how many kids did you need to run a battleship anyway?_ Two small girls - maybe between seven and ten were sitting on a bed, the older comforting the younger.

'The lights went out,' the older said, as Ali perched on the edge of the bed and the younger girl, still sobbing, threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. 'I think it reminded her of the mines…'

Her voice had dropped to a hoarse whisper, and Ali's arm went around her as well, so that he was holding both girls gently.

'Dark small spaces, huh? Well, someone should have thought of that, sorry sweetie.'

Heads had begun to appear around doors. A tall, thin woman with a dishevelled dark pony tail and bloodshot eyes that had a look he remembered seeing in the mirror all too often peered around Ali's open door before tutting at the scene and striding over to help. Another woman appeared in Yattaran's doorway, almost filling it _Stars…! That wasn't all flab on that woman…she looked as though she could smother an entire patrol in her bosom… or with her thighs..._

Yattaran appeared behind her, clad only in a pair of blue and white striped boxers that had seen better days, his glasses crooked on his nose as though shoved on in a hurry.

 _OK… Really could have done without this image…_ the watcher mused. _It'd be like two balloons rubbing together…_

 _Is there anyone on my ship these days_ not _having sex?_

But the scene in the cabin was more intriguing. _Ali… being all fatherly? Who knew…_ He'd put the flashlight on the bedside cabinet and with the pony-tailed woman beside him, was talking quietly to the two girls.

 _Both thin… painfully so. And the scars… Acid burns?_

 _Huh. Oh. Asteroid scouring. Nasty, cheap and dangerous. But profitable… when you place the bottom line above human life…_

 _But since when did the mining corporations start using kids?_

A couple of teenage boys stuck their heads through his torso at that point, both wincing and rubbing their heads as though they'd just had a static shock. One was short, and as rake-thin as the girls, with similar scars on the bare arms revealed by a tatty t-shirt. The other was a little taller and covered in a constellation of freckles.

'Can we help?' the younger one asked, his voice still a reedy treble.

'Yeah - think you can pop over to the Captain's quarters and grab some of those fake candles? Seems Doscoi's having trouble finding his arse from his elbow getting these lights back on…'

'Language!' The dark haired woman landed an open palm to the back of Ali's head, which he grinned at and shrugged off.

'They hear worse…'

'And that excuses _you_ how?' she muttered.

The watcher took a closer look at her. Funny, she didn't look like Ali's usual type… bit lacking in the racking for a start… all angles and sharp lines, and she wasn't young - mid to late thirties, and her eyes - slightly bloodshot - had a look he knew all too well from the mirror.

 _Seen too much you couldn't put a stop to, and started looking at the world through the bottom of a bottle, did you?_

'Are ya gonna bitch at me all night, Doc? Or maybe give Anita a hand getting some cocoa out of Harlock's private stash? Seems to me Niblet and Meggie could do with a bit of comfort here, right?'

 _Doc? Was this the ship's doctor?_

 _Well, another lush in that position isn't news… I've never seen a sober one yet…_

The girls nodded, and the younger - Meggie? - gave him a peck on the cheek. But she didn't loosen her stranglehold on his neck.

'You'll be okay with this?'

He grinned at her. 'Sure. Me, Megan and Niobe here know all about the dark and small spaces, don't we girls?' Both nodded and snuggled closer. 'So, while we wait for Tadashi and Zack to wake Harlock up and pinch his night-lights, you want a story?'

Two little blonde heads nodded.

 _Oh, are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss_ this _for anything…_ The watcher leaned back against the wall, wondered briefly why he didn't just fall through it, then shrugged mentally, crossed his ankles and folded his arms. Small blue sparks flickered in the darkness.

Ali looked straight at the place where he stood, and frowned briefly, peering into the shadows.

 _Did he see me?_

But the burly pirate just shook his head, disengaged himself from the two girls, and tucked them both in. 'Right. Well, once upon a time, there was a farmer's wife who had two gorgeous golden haired boys. Now the older one was really, really clever, handsome, and brave, and one day he made up his mind he was going to be a prospector… he was going to travel all over the universe and find all sorts of things that would make him rich, and he planned to send half his money back to his beautiful mother…'

The watcher bit back a laugh, before remembering it couldn't be heard. _Really? Is that the way you plan on telling this one, Ali?_

He settled back to listen.


	4. Day 4

2981

There were always shadows in the Central Computer Room…

Not all of them a result of the interaction between objects and the light.

 _A kind of chiaroscuro of the soul_ …

Mimay was lying across one of the conduits as usual. Her tendency to use them as impromptu hammocks had always amused Tochiro, he remembered. Nibelung vessels weren't big on formal bespoke use, he'd mentioned once, after a long all-nighter talking and drinking with the four survivors. Their ships lacked the purposeful layouts that humans insisted on - no distinctions between sleeping, eating, meeting spaces. They just built them to accommodate their tendency to just do what they wanted, where they wanted.

 _Kind of how they approach relationships. Like cats, they just rub up against anything they like the look of…_

 _Which was more than a little freaky when Yngvi took a shine to me: the guy was even prettier than Mimay - and even less willing to keep his hands to himself..._

 _Verdani was the shy one… So sweet and gentle, begging me not to fire... And Gullveig… always quickest into the fray…_

Green fireflies trailed through his wispy form, distracting him from the old, painful memories.

'I knew you'd find your way here eventually,' she whispered.

 _You can see me? Hear me?_

She shook her head. 'You're a shadow, Harlock. Though I can _feel_ you, inside…'

 _Oh…_

 _A "deathshadow", maybe? Huh. Crack myself up with_ that _wit…_

He turned to look at the massive trunk of the Central Computer, totally quiescent. The only lights in the room were Mimay's little sparks, and the faint will-o-the-wisp of what he assumed was his dark matter ghost. _I'm guessing you can't hear me either, my friend. Oh, the irony…_

He laid a wispy hand on the trunk, the faint blue threads of mist sparking in reply.

'Ali says he saw a ghost, last year…'

He turned to look at her, her pale, gauzy veils only marginally more substantial than he was.

He cocked his head on one side inviting her to continue.

 _Am I a ghost?_

'Tochiro says the veils thin… a pulse.. every year... it twists space/time.. temporarily reverses the spin of the superstrings in the vicinity... something about the amount of dark matter we unleashed just before..' Her head drooped, her long pale hair falling over to hide her face, but not before a crystal tear fell onto his outstretched hand…

 _Onto_? He lifted his hand up, and watched as the tear rolled over the image of his hand, eventually running down the length of a long, callused finger to drop in slow motion onto the floor.

She raised her face, and stared at him in uncharacteristic shock. Smiling sadly, he extended that hand to reach up and brush another tear from her face.

Green fireflies met blue lightning, but his hand passed through her expectant face, and her third eyelids flickered like a butterfly's wings across her large eyes.

 _Tochiro might find a way to…_

 _What? Bring me back?_

 _From where...?_

 _That_ part was frustratingly blank. Now that he tried to think about it, he _couldn't_ remember…

'Harlock…'

Her voice was barely above a whisper, soft, seductive, and sorrowful. Always so full of sorrow… You could drown in those pale emerald eyes.

 _I wish I could make you hear me… There's so much I should have said…_

He spotted a glass nearby… half full of a deep ruby red claret.

 _That first time… he'd been able to move the glass… maybe there's a way to communicate after all…_

He essayed a reassuring smile, then reached for the crystal goblet.

 _Huh. Last one of_ that _pair… Maya had thrown the other one at his head when he'd tried to talk to her out of going on that damned mission to Jupiter. He'd still been holding this one when he stormed out._

 _I still have the scar behind my right ear… she did have a temper, under that ice-queen routine..._

 _Not so icy she didn't go running into the bed of the one person you could never forgive her for turning to when she thought you were dead..._

Funny, the things that hurt the most, even after all this time… _Could the pair of them not have found someone -_ anyone _\- else to fuck if they were that bloody lonely?_

His hand touched the glass, trailed blue mist, but his hand felt the crystal, ran a finger around the gold-plated edge, wondering if he could set it to singing.

 _Apparently not…_

He dipped a finger in the wine, wondering at the way ruby-red droplets orbited his fingers when he moved his hand too quickly.

 _Some kind of field effect… I guess Tochiro would understand better…_

He quickly wrote his message on the nearby wall. Even though it was short, the droplets began to phase through his fingers as he finished.

 _Too much effort?_ he was fading faster than before, but he had her attention, and hoped she read the words before they dried.

I'm sorry…


	5. Day 5

2982

 _The deepest shadows are the ones we carry inside us_ …

He watched, from a corner of what had once been his cabin, as Kei placed a hand on Yama's scarred back and laid her head gently against his shoulder whilst he stared out of the arched, leaded window. Instead of the darkness of space, outside was a well-lit space dock.

 _One of the old fortresses? I thought the Council had turned the surviving ones into floating pleasure palaces…?_

The Arcadia's new captain - _new? Well… maybe after another century he might concede The Brat had a claim…_ looked as though he'd not long stepped out of the shower. His brown hair was still damp and curled loosely around his face, just brushing his shoulders. Light blue leather trousers rode low on lean hips, and his feet were bare. A tumbler of whiskey was held absently at Yama's side, almost as though he'd forgotten it was there.

In the window his reflection stared into the room, and the watcher alone saw their two images side by side. Two men, dark haired, one eyed, scarred across the same cheek, their single eyes both aware of the sorrows of the world.

 _Not so young or so innocent anymore, Yama? For that, you have my sympathy._

'Four years. Four damned years of war, and for what, Kei?'

The tension and controlled anger in his voice was almost tangible, but he didn't raise it.

'So much death… so many sacrifices… and because of one treaty we're supposed to forget? Let it lie? Promethium burned entire worlds, and her mechanisation programme has brought the Galaxy - no, _two_ galaxies - to their knees.'

Kei took the glass from his hand, placed it on the edge of the desk, and returned to his side. Her ungloved hand lightly traced the scars on his back - _electro-whip? Someone had gone to town on The Brat in the last couple of years…_

'If they hadn't signed, this would have dragged on for decades. As it is…'

'I know that,' he replied softly. 'We were already on the brink. But do they really believe she'll stop? She _can't_ , Kei - those soulless machines that were once human need human life force to survive. She won't stop harvesting - she can't. This so-called "peace" is built on a lie and the bodies of the innocent, just like her promise of immortality.' He sighed heavily. 'I'm tired, Kei. So tired… And so are the crew. But how can we stop now? There are dozens of worlds out there that need someone to stand up for them… Doppler and his ilk are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sharks circling, scenting blood in the water. So many children sacrificed on the altars of profit and immortality...'

'It sickens me, too. We won't stop. We'll take the breather this offers, and think of _something_.' She kissed the spot between his shoulder blades, and he turned until she was cradled against his chest. 'You always do…'

'You still have so much faith in me…' Yama whispered. His lips brushed the top of her head. 'Even when there are days I open the drawer and stare at that damn detonator…'

She lifted a hand and laid it on his cheek. 'You've always believed the best of people. You would never have used it, even if it _was_ still an option…'

 _No… I don't suppose you would… I think deep down I knew that, when I gave it to you. She's right. You had so much hope…_

 _What the hell is happening out there?_

The watcher moved closer, taking a longer look at the two who'd taken on his legacy. _It's been - what - five? Six years?_

He watched as the two just stood there, not speaking. _Not doing much of anything, and yet there's so much being said..._

 _I could envy you that… both of you… But you both look like you've stared into hell…_

 _It always shows in the eyes… even if you can still smile at the world..._

There was a reedy cry from the far side of the room, and Kei smiled up at her love. 'Someone's playing our song…'

He watched as they moved towards a large, high sided child bed.

Yama reached down to pick up one small bundle, and Kei a second.

 _Twins? Huh. Not content with just_ collecting _kids, you're_ growing _them…?_ He looked more closely, peering over Kei's shoulder, but careful not to come into contact. _Nine… maybe ten months old… brown hair, and their father's eyes… Boys? Got the family good looks at least. Hopefully their mother's brains…_

He smiled wryly, seeing the unguarded affection the two bestowed on their children. _No… you wouldn't take my path, would you? Not if you had a stake in the future like this…_

You _had sons… two of them._ His treacherous inner voice whispered, like a devil on his shoulder. _Didn't stop_ you _from deciding write_ them _out of existence…_

The doors of the cabin opened, and two tiny dervishes - perhaps two or three years old - toddled towards the pair, almost colliding with their legs.

'Mama! Papa!'

Two breathless voices. Both Kei and Yama had to sit down on the edge of the bed, to let the small boy, all wide smile, short legs and snub, runny nose… _funny - either Kei put horns on your head, Yama, or you've somehow found a stray Ôyama…_ and a pretty, pink-and-gold vision the image of her mother crawl all over them and coo at their siblings.

'Yumi, Taro! What did I say about not rushing around the babies!'

The watcher turned, to see the red-haired girl - now very much a young woman - stride into the room. Her red-gold hair was caught back from her face in a pony-tail which almost reached the middle of a leather-clad ass that would give Kei's some stiff competition…

The little girl was clambering over to her father, a look of devilish concentration on her little face, the tip of a pink tongue sticking out. The laugh that bubbled up at the sight came out as a snigger, unheard, as she elbowed her slower companion out of the way and tried to wriggle onto her father's lap. _Oh, you poor bastard… she's a Harlock all the way, that one…_

He smirked. _Just think of the fun you'll have terrorising her boyfriends when she's the age that red-head is now, brat…_

Taro elbowed his adoptive sister sneakily in retaliation and she stuck her tongue out at him. Her mother laughed and lifted her baby brother out of Yama's arms. 'You'd better cuddle her, you know she doesn't give up.' Kei smiled fondly as Yumi laid her cheek against her father's and put her arms around his neck. Taro, giving it up as a bad job, headed for the available lap of the red haired girl, who'd sat down to field twin number two, currently making a bid for freedom across the counterpane. Crawling into her lap and ignoring her awkward attempt to keep him at a distance, he snuggled into her cleavage face first and promptly fell asleep.

He smiled. _Yup… you're an Ôyama all right… enjoy it before you're of an age when they start slapping your face, kiddo._

 _...and for the record, your great-great whatever grandpa had a thing for long stemmed red-heads as well..._

The memory was enough to conjure a change of scene… to leave the family to their privacy, and return to the heart of the Arcadia.

Or one of them…

* * *

Mimay reclined on her usual perch above the server bays, surrounded by fireflies.

'I knew you'd come back…'

He smiled at her, wondering how much she saw. He reached out, even knowing he couldn't touch her, and smiled as she arched her head slightly so that her face brushed against the slight energy field. _So close… yet so far away…_

'Tochiro… left you a message. Just in case...' she whispered. Her own smile was still sorrow-laden.

Two wine glasses were laid out in front of the bulging root of the central trunk where he used to sit, wrapped as much in his own misery as his cloak. He reached for one of them, wondering again at the fact that for some reason, this, of all things, he could touch.

 _Why be surprised? You're a maudlin alcoholic who'd have pickled his liver decades ago if it hadn't been preserved by dark matter... Maybe your afterlife has a twisted sense of humour?_

 _Would it just fall through him to the floor if he tried to take a drink?_

Some long forgotten sense of mischief made him try it. To his, and from the shocked little cough behind him, Mimay's, surprise, he could not only drink it, but taste it.

 _That'd be a "yes" to the cosmic joke..._

 _Not wine. Andromedan red bourbon in a wine glass… smooth, my friends. Real smooth. Nice try but I wasn't born yesterday…_

'I knew you'd try it. You never could pass up a challenge.'

Tochiro's voice, coming from a nearby speaker. As he waited, the faint holographic image followed. Tochiro, leaning against the wall, grinning at him - or at least, in his general direction.-

 _A recording...but it still caused a knot to form in his barely-existing chest. Even after all this time..._

'We won't have much time. Mimay says she told you that I figure this is something to do with the dark matter burst we let rip just before you…' There was a long pause. 'Anyway. I managed to arrange to move Deathshadow Island into the path of the dark matter bursts coming from the Gate of Yedar. I've got a theory about your appearances, so we'll give it a test. I'm afraid though that if I'm right, we have a big problem, my friend, and it's not something I can share with Harlock… That is, Yama… just yet. The lad has enough on his plate right now, and this one's a real doozy... '

He settled down to listen.


	6. Day 6

2983

He stood in the middle of an unfamiliar, well-lit room, noting how the light seemed to ignore him, watching with a sense of bemusement as a pair of small cats - a dark tortoiseshell and a tiny ginger kitten - stalked a flimsy which was half hanging off Yama's workbench.

He'd decided to hold off a little on returning to the Central Computer Room _._

 _No, I'm not avoiding anything… I just need…_

 _Time… space… Just to think._

Yama reached down with a heavy sigh and disentangled the kitten from the printout before the little ball of fluff brought the entire pile down on his head. 'Who let you two in here? I gave strict instructions cats, birds and small children were banned from my lab…'

'Maybe it was the ghost?' The small boy he'd seen on a previous interaction entered the room, a tray in his hands. Slightly older now, and much better fed, though he looked as though he'd always be on the small side. Dark brown hair was cut neatly around a slightly chubby, cheery face.

'Not you too, Tadashi…' Yama had his hands full of purring kitten, and nodded to the only clear patch on a workbench filled with polymer print-outs, a high end tablet and at least three pieces of electronic equipment that presumably performed some esoteric function or other.

'Mimay says he's around every year at this time… and always during the graveyard shift…' The youth placed the tray where indicated and made fluttering motions with his hands. 'Racked by guilt for all eternity and doomed to haunt his ship as it sails through the sea of stars…' he droned it what was presumably supposed to be an unearthly tone.

 _Guilt? For_ what _, exactly…?_

'And Ali says he saw him. In the girls' room that time... You know - Zack and I had a bit of a shock when we walked in… maybe that was the ghost…?'

Yama's sigh could have moved mountains. 'Firstly, that area had just suffered a power outage due to an electrical surge, so you could have just had a slight static shock. Secondly, Ali was still off his head on pain meds after what Doppler's minions did to him when he went after that illegal asteroid-stripping operation. I'm just amazed he didn't report seeing unicorns riding mermaids. Thirdly, Mimay's grip on reality as we know it can be a bit tenuous even on a good day. It's hardly definitive.'

Tadashi just grinned at him. 'But Tochiro and Yattaran have been spending time talking about some weird-ass shit to do with quantum entanglement and higher dimensional physics and the nature of consciousness…'

'Yes,' came the dry reply, ' _My_ eyes glazed over the moment they started discussing the Planck constant and high-energy superstring waveforms and writing equations the size of a small novel… So don't try to pretend _you_ understood any of it.' He reached for the covered mug on the tray. 'Just tell me this is fully leaded?' He tugged the lid off and sniffed appreciatively before drinking.

'As ordered - one fully caffeinated cinnamon latte. Oh, and Anita added a couple of sandwiches - she says you missed tea…'

'Please tell me you haven't taken to bribing your cabin boy into slipping you contraband?'

The watcher turned to see a newcomer walk through the doorway - a man in his late thirties or so - fitting the textbook description of tall, dark and handsome, and wearing sunglasses.

 _Sunglasses? On a_ spaceship _? And people (Tochiro…) used to question some of_ my _sartorial choices…?_

'I'm not his cabin boy, Zero!' Tadashi protested. The man ruffled the youth's hair as he walked past him.

'Sorry. No offence meant. But if Kei catches you supplying him with non-decaf, she'll likely flay your hide…'

'She'll have to catch me first,' Tadashi smirked. 'We have a system…'

'She just likes something to fuss about,' Yama replied. 'Time was I just kept downing the stuff to keep going, but it's not as though it has any lasting effect anymore, thanks to my system metabolising almost everything before I can enjoy it. Plus I'm secure enough in my masculinity to pass on the rite-of-passage that is the roofing tar Yattaran brews up in the canteen coffee machine…' He slapped the hand that reached under the covered plate on the tray to snag a sandwich. 'Do you mind - those are for _me…_ from _my_ cook…'

'Don't mind if I do, thanks.' The thief settled down on a nearby chair, utterly unrepentant. 'As one of the former heads of the Millennial Thieves, I have to keep my hand in...' The two men shared a playful smile before Zero took a bite. 'Are you _hiding_ down here?'

'No' Defensive. Yama mock-glared at Tadashi. 'Still here? Didn't you draw the short straw to take this shift from Zack tonight…?'

'Going… going, sir!' The youth grinned cheekily and took off at a jog.

Yama leaned back in his chair. 'Kei made it quite clear I wasn't welcome, even going so far as to just shove my jacket and cravat at me and tell me to get lost. I had to use the crew showers. Currently our cabin is now hosting my wife, my cook, my doctor, my Nibelung, _your_ wife, and a foul-tempered, red-haired hellion who's actually _your_ niece but somehow always seems to end up on _my_ ship…' He reached for a sandwich. 'And they're busy draining my wine-cellar dry…'

 _ **Your** wine-cellar?!_

'You exaggerate… not even _that_ little group could make much of a dent in _that_ stash…' Zero drawled.

 _I should hope not…_ _ _Maybe I should have haunted the liquor stores - put up a nice big psychic sign saying "Property of Captain Harlock - keep your thieving hands off"...__

'So…' Zero began, stretching his legs out. 'Ghosts? In addition to Tochiro?'

'Just the one, if Mimay's to be believed. For the record, Tochiro keeps changing the damn subject. But Tadashi's right - he has been discussing some very esoteric concepts with Yattaran - and my anthropologist uncle, so make of that what you will. Professor Daiba's reply was to quote Homer at them on the tradition of offering libations to the dead...

" _Here open'd hell, all hell I here implored,_

 _And from the scabbard drew the shining sword:_

 _And trenching the black earth on every side,_

 _A cavern form'd, a cubit long and wide._

 _New wine, with honey-temper'd milk, we bring,_

 _Then living waters from the crystal spring..."'_

He declaimed. 'So this year, Ali's left glasses of my best burgundy in the Central Computer room, the Bridge and the cockpit of my Space Wolf… I suspect he's currently hunched over a screen with Maji waiting for any activity. However Kei put her foot down at circles drawn on the decks in blood…'

Zero laughed. 'Well, if it keeps them out of mischief…'

Yama sighed. 'Sailors are a superstitious lot at best. This, I can do without…'

'Would it be so bad, if it were true? I mean, you used to wish the guy had left you with a bit more to go on than vague rumblings about destiny and an eyepatch…'

'First - no-ship can have two captains - we'd have been at each other's throats within a week. Anyone who thinks he'd have hung back and let _me_ take the reins is just deluded, and as you and everyone who knows me points out, I don't do very well taking orders... Plus - would you want your _father_ looking over your shoulder second-guessing every decision?' Yama asked pointedly. 'Same thing.'

Zero winced. 'Point.'

'Besides, there'd be a queue lining up of people wanting to shake him by the throat until his teeth rattled over the whole "wipe you all out of existence thing…"' Yama raised his gaze upwards 'And if you _are_ bloody eavesdropping, spending the last seven years cleaning up the shit you conveniently left behind was _not_ what I planned to do with my life!'

 _No need to shout, Brat… I'm right here… Besides - what were you planning on doing with that life? Wiping your brother's arse for the rest of your days, or finding ever more creative ways to get yourself killed as a fuck-you to the bastard?_

 _Wait -_ what _shit? You can't_ possibly _blame_ me _for this Nibelung debacle_... He paused, remembering some of the hints Tochiro had let slip in his message. _Oh… well maybe a little… And the surviving Deathshadow ships, granted… maybe I'll even allow you the abandoned oscillators… But with all due respect, I ignored the rest of the crap humans were pulling out here because I planned on pulling the plug and **making it all go away**..._

He shouted the last bit into Yama's ear, but it merely elicited a flick of a gloved hand as though a gnat had brushed past, and a slight shiver as though a draught went down his neck.

At this point he began to wish that a cloak-swishing exit was possible. _Maybe even a headless pirate routine… because the universe might be going to hell in a handbasket, I'm stuck between "states" for one hour a bloody year and the only person who can see me even a little can't hear me, and my best friend can't manifest whilst I do…_

He stormed out of the lab, feeling a slight resistance as he passed through the doors. _Huh. Good job I seem to keep my feet at floor level…Or is it if I start thinking about…_

He promptly "sank" through the floor to his waist. _Right. Stop over-thinking this. Got it…_

 _Where did he say those wine-glasses were?_ _I need a displacement activity, and fucking with Ali's head is_ always _a classic..._

 _Then another word with Tochiro. If he's left a message. Just a quick detour…_

 _Procrastination… what procrastination?_

A sudden clatter and an outraged shout of "Dammit, Mii!" from inside the room sounded worthy of a backwards glance. He stuck his head through the door in time to see Yama brushing coffee off his (thankfully leather clad) lap, and the tray now on the floor, sandwiches akimbo. Two small streaks tore past the intangible watcher through the narrow gap in the door, pieces of what looked like ham held firmly in small jaws. Both came to a screeching, scrabbling stop in the corridor, coats and tails fluffed and looked straight at him, eyes wide, before scuttling away with their hard earned stash.

 _Yep… and_ that's _why we don't have small critters and children on spaceships, brat…_

Smirking at the fun, he went in search of a former crewman to torture.


	7. Day 7

2984

'I'm telling you, there was something freaky last year!' Ali poked a finger into Yattaran's chest, took a closer look at the grimy striped sweater the first mate was wearing, and ostentatiously wiped his hand on his pants.

'Yeah. You ain't shut up about it for a year either. Could have been anyone fucking with yer head' Yattaran pointed out, in his best "I'm being reasonable so why are you getting so mad" tone. 'Doscoi for one…'

'Doscoi couldn't organise a piss-up in Maji's distillery,' Ali snorted. He looked over to Maji for confirmation and the taciturn engineer just shrugged nonchalantly, then nodded.

'I'm just sayin'' Yattaran pointed at the screen, currently freeze-framed on a fuzzy picture of the cockpit of a Space Wolf. 'All you got is some white noise, a fuzzy video and some empty glasses. No-one saw anything, and the cameras didn't get nothing.'

'Yeah - so why did _all_ of 'em go on the fritz, just before the glasses got emptied, eh? Tell me that if you're so bloody wise, fatso!' He sat back in his seat, legs stretched out, ankles crossed, and folded his arms aggressively over his red sweater. 'You've had a year to think about it - even had your head together with Tochiro and come up with jack and shit... I know what I saw though - that blue lightning! It's the old captain… you can't tell me you weren't thinking it too?'

Harlock leaned - if that was the word - against the wall at the back of the comms station below the bridge, and tried not to smirk. _Too bloody easy… And thanks for the assist on the cameras, my friend - knew you'd have my back…_

His three longest serving crew had their heads together now, looking at something on the screen Maji had called up.

'You think this will be interference proof?' Ali asked.

Another shrug from Maji. Left shoulder this time. _That'd be a "maybe", then…_

A blonde head peered around the corner at this point. 'Can we come with you this year?'

One of the girls he'd seen on previous visits… the younger one with the night terrors about small dark spaces… The older girl was behind her, along with the not-a-cabin-boy, the freckled youth, and four small children - a girl and three boys.

'Why…?' Ali drew out the single syllable, suspiciously, giving the group a wary look.

'Figure more help can't hurt…' the freckled youth replied with a grin. 'Putting out all of those glasses will be a chore, especially since you left it a bit late this year!'

'Yeah… well… got caught up in that spat Harlock had with Danny-boy earlier. I seriously thought he was gonna make the bastard walk back to the Prometheus without a space suit…'

 _Harlock? Oh. Right. The Brat. Really - Et tu, Ali?_ Looking closely he did spot that the burly gunner was sporting a black eye.

'Dan give you that?' Yattaran asked.

'Nah. Hank Douglas when I tried to step in… Who by the way for all his size hits like a girl…' He glanced round nervously 'Errr… No offence, if you're skulking, Princess Frosty-pants…'

'Relax. You're safe,' Tadashi laughed. 'She's baby-sitting her new nephew and little Nami.' He leaned a little closer. 'What went down? From what I heard, even Kei was planning on going to town on Colonel Ichimonji…'

Dantetsu _Ichimonji? Huh. You missed_ that _little gem out of your briefing notes, my friend… when were you planning on telling me my sons' descendants had found each other?_

'Parenting dispute… Dan was training with his eldest, and half flattened the kid before backhanding him out the ring so hard he fell and broke his arm. You know the Captain and kids…

 _Hardly surprising… his father was almost as big an asshole as his brother…_

'...he called Dan out on it for being too hard on a ten year old, Danny-boy told him to mind his own beeswax, and before you know it, Harlock told him to pick on someone his own size, Danny-boy landed a sucker punch, and the shirts were off…' He sniggered. 'Captain's got a shiner even better than mine, and broke his hand on that jaw, but Danny-boy will be lucky to father any more children after that kick in the unmentionables that finally floored him. That, and a nasty headache...' Ali ruffled the heads of the twin boys and Taro, and grinned at Yumi. 'Yer dad's got some moves, kids!' He knelt down until he was eye level with the smaller children. Yumi wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the cheek, the boys just crowded closer, Taro already shorter than the twins, despite being about a year older.

'Can you tell us stories about the ghost-captain?' Yumi asked. She gave Ali what had to be a well practiced smile, even for a six year old. 'Papa says he doesn't know any, and Mimay and mama just get sad if we ask.'

'Assuming you know any suitable for small ears,' the freckled boy said with a grin.

'I can tell nice stories, yer cheeky bugger, Zachary.' Ali gave him a sour look. 'Okay. Everyone follow me…' He picked Yumi up and helped her scramble onto his shoulders where she sat laughing. 'We'll go an' put out some glasses for the ghost, and Maji here'll see if we can get a look at him by stringing up some sensors …'

Taro tried to shove a small, transparently wrapped package at him. 'What, short stuff?' He peered at the article. 'Your rice ball looks as though someone sat on it…'

Taro blushed. 'It's for the ghost. I saved it from dinner. You're giving him something to drink, but I thought he might be hungry…'

 _That's_ not _a lump in my bloody throat… not even close…_

'I've got one as well,' one of the twins piped up, holding up a rather less squishy offering. His mirror image just shuffled his feet.

'That's sweet, Mamoru… Wattaru?' Ali looked at the other boy.

'Erm… I forgot. I ate mine…'

Yattaran burst out laughing. 'Why ain't I surprised?' he sniggered. He patted the boy on the head almost hard enough to knock him off his feet. 'S'alright, kiddo. We can swing by Anita's kitchen and pick something up.'

'You do know the cats and the Captain's bird will probably snaffle it all, right?' Ali stage whispered to Yattaran as they walked with their little entourage in tow.

 _...yes, and sticky rice and high-end avionics are_ such _a good combination… if you damage my Space Wolf I_ will _come back next year and keep you awake all night if I can, First Mate…_

He glared at the vast expanse of Yattaran's back as the first mate turned a corner. _On which subject… who said you could re-build my bloody cockpit to let The Brat fly my baby?_

 _You should get a hundred years of sleepless nights for that alone…_

He kept a discreet, if unnecessary distance from the small group as they walked, chattering and laughing.

 _Plenty of time to catch up with Mimay and Tochiro… this, I've just_ got _to see…_


	8. Day 8

2985

Some kinds of darkness throw no shadows…

The ship seemed deserted, at first glance. No crew walked the passageways. The mess hall was empty, the lights dim, a pile of unwashed dishes still piled on the side waiting to be placed in the auto-clave.

Engineering had only a two man watch - not unusual in itself, given they were, from the view outside the portals, on a planet. But it was the same story everywhere.

Even the bridge was only minimally manned. One man on sensors - a fat, bald bruiser who looked familiar, though it took him a while to place the guy.

 _Heavy Meldar… one of the three who climbed Mount Gun Frontier with Yama… and his bandanna wearing slab-of-beef partner was at Kei's station_.

He recognised Franz - still nursing his prize 'tache, he noticed… and Martinez - still shaving the sides of his head in stripes, though he'd added a long mohican to the mix now. But all four men were strangely subdued. No chatter, just a deathly quiet that spoke volumes.

Whatever had happened, it had been bad... They all had the look of men who'd gazed into the abyss and only just stepped back from the edge.

He went in search of Mimay, and didn't find her in the deserted, darkened computer room.

More than a little concerned, he headed for his old quarters, expecting to find her there.

Here too, the lights were out. Even his candles were dark, for the first time in memory, since Yama too had a not unreasonable dread of permanent darkness.

Blindness - total blindness - was an all too real fear for a man who'd already lost one eye. _No matter how much we hide it…_

The only light came from the bed, and it was so faint it barely registered at first. Mimay was huddled in the centre of his large bed, curled around herself like a cat, her light dimmed to a bare flicker, her fireflies winking out almost as soon as they formed.

She wasn't alone. Taro, one of the twin boys and and a tiny dark haired girl so like the twin that she had to be a younger sister were curled up against her like three small kittens. All three looked as though they'd cried themselves to sleep.

All four. The last time he'd seen Mimay look this miserable, was just after they'd destroyed Earth...

He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over her, wishing he could brush her pale, silky hair from her face. All he could do was allow the flickering lightning to gently caress her hair. The gesture was enough to make her raise her head to look at him, but she didn't meet his eye, lowering her head quickly to let her hair fall back over her face to screen it from his gaze. Her arm stretched out to cover the children protectively.

 _Guilt, Mimay? What have you done...?_

There was one other place on board that was always manned twenty-four seven, where he might find someone.

He made his way to the infirmary.

* * *

The lights were on, and there were far too many people home. Yama, the pony-tailed doctor, and Kei were all gathered around one bed. Kei's face was thin and deathly pale, her eyes red rimmed from crying. Yama, his arm around her holding her close, looked almost as bad. Both eyes were equally a reddened, and the burn spatters under his sightless right eye stood out darkly against pale skin.

The doctor moved out of his line of sight, to reveal that the bed was occupied by one of the little twins. The dark haired little boy - no older than five or six - was breathing shallowly, and his hair was plastered to his forehead. Small hands gripped the sheet that covered him, knuckles white with pain. To get a better look and overhear the quiet conversation, he moved closer.

'He's stable, now. But it was a close call. I can't give him anything more for the pain - I could kill him as easily as not.' The doctor was chewing the end of her ponytail, 'Harlock, I'm so sorry. The reaction to the retro-virus is very rare. Wattaru didn't have any side-effects, but this - this was always a risky solution… I know you feel you had to do it, but the chances you took…'

'Doc - I know. I made the call, and this is all my fault…' Yama laid his hand on his son's cheek. 'Kei - ' he turned to look at her - 'you have every right to hate me for this…'

She shook her head, so slight a movement he almost missed it. 'We both made that call, Harlock. So help me, I couldn't lose another child… not after Yumi, and then the baby…' She sat down too hard on the edge of the bed and was as close to collapse as he'd seen. Instinctively he took a step towards her, then held back. She clung with one hand to her son's pale fingers. The other was held in Yama's hand as she leaned into his body, her head against his chest, crying silently and without tears.

She looked as though she'd cried so much, her tears were empty… 'Is it so selfish of my to want my son to live, even though we've lost so many to this Deathshadow plague?' she whispered. The look she gave her partner was desperately pleading.

Doc placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'Not selfish, Kei. I just hope…' she shook her head sadly. 'I've done all I can for Mamoru. He's comfortable. Now all we can do is hope that whatever you asked Mimay and Tochiro to do worked. I've got patients in the town to see, and we still have bodies to disp…' she stopped herself. 'Bury.'

She gave Yama a pat on his arm as she walked past. 'I can't change the rules, Harlock. The town council insists on the mass grave - but I'll ensure they're all laid to rest with respect.'

He nodded, numbly. 'Tell Selen…' he choked slightly. 'Tell Selen I'll be over shortly. No-one will leave her to face this alone.'

She nodded, and left, walking through the watcher as she did so.

 _Plague? What the hell…?_

'Mamoru?' Kei leaned towards her son as he whimpered slightly. Then it seemed to become all too much and she clung to Yama, sobbing - but again, hardly a sound. 'Oh, Harlock… I never knew anything could hurt so much… if I could turn back the clock this instant, I would, and to _hell_ with the rest of the universe... '

He sat beside her, holding her close. Dry-eyed, but the look in those hazel eyes was bleak, lost and - yes, angry… 'So would I. So help me, so would I… I almost lost you. I'm just so sorry I didn't make it back in time to save Yumi, or our little boy. I'm so, so sorry, my love. I don't think I ever understood how Harlock could have wanted to do what he did… until now…' He buried his face in her hair, his shoulders trembling, but his eyes remained bleak, and dry.

So determined to be strong... _But - Yumi? That little golden-haired girl who looked as though she'd steal the heart of everyone who saw her?_

Even though he knew it could do no good, he sat beside them on the edge of the bed, keeping their vigil.

Kei pushed herself away from Yama's arms, and stared into his eyes. 'I shouldn't be so selfish…' she whispered. 'Selen lost Zero… and her little boys… I can't even begin to imagine going through this without you…'

The watcher looked on, silently, as Yama stroked her hair. 'You won't have to. But I will need to go and steady the crew. We lost so many, not just to the plague. Destroying Deathshadow Three took everything we had and more. I had to pull an oscillator again to contain the entire solar system in the end to stop it. Otherwise it would never have ended.' There was a catch in his voice on that last part.

 _That system wasn't uninhabited, rookie, was it?_

Yama pulled Kei closer. 'Reports have been coming in - the plague's been contained and Doc's retro-virus worked, but the losses… Dan and Hank both lost their wives to it. And Dan's eldest son didn't make it… Layla's people on Destiny have been coordinating the relief effort, but several worlds were totally depopulated before the SDF arrived.'

Mamoru stirred and cried out, writhing under the covers. It was instinct, though one long buried, that made Harlock reach out to sooth the child. The moment his hand touched the boy's skin, he jerked his hand back in shock at the sensation… a brief flash of blue static… and the feel of the boy's hot skin under his own.

'Mamoru?' Yama was already leaning over his son, Kei almost welded to his side.

But Harlock was already backing away in shock, staring at his hand...

...and at the small boy, who by rights, it seemed, should have been dead…

" _...what you asked Mimay and Tochiro to do…"_

Oh. He recognised the look in Yama's eyes now: that mixture of guilt, and desperation, and grief, and anger… and fear. But not regret.

Never regret.

Some things you never _want_ to take back, after all.

He was shocked still further when a wild hazel eye was trained on the spot where he stood and met his own, widening in surprise before Yama gave a little shake of his head as if to say "what the hell…"

 _What have you done, Yama?_ he asked - knowing the answer, because when there was so much at stake, what else _could_ you do but risk everything on one wild throw of the dice?

The younger man's voice answered him quietly: 'What I had to…'


	9. Day 9

2986

He appeared on the bridge just as the Arcadia came out of IN-SKIP, still wreathed in shadows.

 _'I am half sick of shadows...'_ he murmured, even though he knew no-one would hear him.

Not that they would have heard anything less than a bellow over the clamour of battle stations. This time, the bridge was fully manned, each crewman on alert, as a series of bolts sped towards them on the main viewscreen, only to miss by a mere fraction.

As the shadows which enveloped the Arcadia thinned, the enemy ship came into view. Ribbons of dark matter wound around a central mass he could never quite make out, rather like a child's spinning top with a mobius strip wrapped around it, endlessly circling from top to bottom, with no beginning and no end...

 _A Nibelung warship? Here? Now?_

'Full speed ahead! Mimay - everything you can spare to the dark matter shields. Ali, keep all guns on the Phantasm.'

'Yeah, yeah… take the straw outta the egg, boss…' came the pithy reply back.

 _You know… you can tell him to shut the fuck up once in a while… Man up a bit…_

He watched Yama spin the ship gracefully out of the way of another salvo. _Good reflexes…and no Tochiro for backup? You've improved, rookie…_ The Arcadia sent another wave against the Nibelung ship, not causing much more than a slight ripple in the dark matter ribbon. _Damn… those things are even tougher to crack than I'd heard… She's just sitting and taking it. That captain's just taking the piss_ , _brat… you need to…_

'Yattaran - come about - prepare for ramming attack!'

 _Oh no… no… you cannot_ possibly _be thinking of trying that on one of these ships… if you slam two dark matter vessels together…_

He watched the dark matter cloud coalesce into the wicked, curved switchblade from the ship's bow, and took a step towards the wheel as Yama gave the order for all ahead flank…

 _Idiot!_

He heard Mimay give a warning cry, and stepped forward, reaching for the wheel on an instinct he couldn't deny. ' _Pull her up, you fool_!' he shouted, impotently.

His hands went straight through Yama's torso, and…

...closed on the balusters with a tenuous grip, like trying to push two like-poled magnets together; slick and unforgiving… but she did respond... grudgingly...

He heard a pained grunt, and a blood-curdling scream, and Yama was pulling back, doubled over with pain, to be fielded by a concerned Kei. The Arcadia pulled free of her planned trajectory, flipping over in a wild loop, before coming about to face her enemy again. Yama, breathing heavily, took the wheel again as Harlock stepped away.

'What the fuck just happened?' Ali shouted. 'Who's screaming like a bloody girl up there? Nearly frightened me half to death!'

'That'd be Yattaran,' Kei called back down. More quietly, she asked Yama 'Are you okay? You looked like someone just…'

'Felt like someone stabbed me in the damn chest,' he replied a little hoarsely. 'With a cattle prod...I'll be fine.'

'It… it was hands…!' Yattaran had backed away from his station, eyes even wider than usual behind his bottle-bottom glasses. 'Hands going right through him, grabbing the wheel!' He stared wildly around the bridge, totally overlooking the watcher.

 _Note to self, don't give the first mate a heart attack… not with the weight he's carrying..._

'You big girl's blouse…' Ali snorted from below. 'Mind you - I told you there was a ghost!'

'I'm sorry, I tried to warn you…' Mimay said softly. 'You shouldn't try that kind of manoeuvre against a ship with a similar dark matter profile. The interaction of the shields…'

'Someone couldn't have mentioned that _before_ we engaged?' Yama snapped. Mimay hung her head slightly. _Something else that doesn't change… Always so guarded with information… he has you there, Mimay..._

Yama sighed. 'I owe our ghost a thank you, it seems… but we can't get through that shield like this… We'll try it Kei's way: I'll take the fighters out. Yattaran, pull yourself together and take the helm. Kei, Rick, Sabu, Emeraldas - with me. She's been with us on two jumps now, and I need her drive down before we jump again. Ali - keep on it - keep that bastard distracted for me!'

 _You can't just shoot through the shield? Surely if you can match the frequency of that ribbon, then it's just like shooting with an interrupter..._ He watched carefully as the Arcadia's gun crews opened fire again, breaking and diving to avoid the return… _Ah... no such luck. Whatever that shield is, it doesn't have a recognisable pattern. No wonder he needs the planes, though that's pretty ballsy..._

He smirked as Yattaran approached the wheel as though it was a live scorpion, then moved into the shadows near the pulleys on the walls to get a better view on the lower bridge, as Yama _(no… sorry brat, can't do it… You can have the name but don't expect_ me _to ever call you Harlock...)_ called out orders as he took the stairs two at a time to be joined by his chosen pilots. Ali was at his station, glaring at his screens as though whatever they were showing him was a personal affront.

 _As usual…_

The quiet, grim atmosphere as they danced a lethal tango with the Phantasm was a world away from the light hearted banter he'd seen on previous occasions, even allowing for the combat. He caught sight of Yama's face again as he strode past heading for the hangar deck. _Not so young anymore, huh?..._ there was a haunted strain around his visible eye that he saw mirrored in the faces around him.

The events he'd caught such a brief glimpse of last year had taken a visible toll... he looked for familiar faces, wondering who had been lost.

Bob's, Dan's and Carlos' stations were all manned by strangers...

But he did see Maji... and Franz, Griffin, Shima...Martinez... but apart from those and Yattaran, Ali and Kei, there seemed to be no other faces from his time... the others were new, though some appeared a little less comfortable with their surroundings than others. The two flatheads from Heavy Meldar he recognised, and the freckled youth... the rest? Not so much. Since the turrets were obviously fully manned he did wonder how many other familiar faces were lost...

 _Would love to read the recruitment policy though... Special mention to the flight wing - one slab of muscle, two women and a one-armed pilot led by a captain with one eye..._

The frosty red-head was complaining again as she followed Yama out... Almost like a female Ali ( _drop_ that _image quickly…_ ) _What was_ with _the mouth on that young woman?_

Combined with the skin tight red and black flightsuit she wore, it was rather intoxicating... _kind of like a shot of Andromedan Red Bourbon, with tits..._

 _Yeah... you always did like 'em a little mean..._ he watched as she sashayed at Kei's side, arguing about something that occasioned a sharp putdown from Kei. Yama, still showing too much of a tendency to avoid confrontation - _is my reputation going to be another casualty of the new regime?_ \- seemed content to let the ladies sort it out for themselves.

They'd be a while heading to the fighters, so he detoured to the Central Computer Room.

* * *

With Mimay manning her control station, the place was deserted. And as expected, the soul of the Arcadia was offline. Something to do with entangled quantum states, had been Tochiro's best guess. They couldn't both be conscious in this space at the same time...

But with only eight hours on the job, he'd not been able to work out exactly what his own deal was. If he had an existence outside of these hours - and some instinct said he did - then he didn't recall it.

For some odd reason, since witnessing the devastation Deathshadow 3 had left in its wake last time, it seemed important that he _did_ remember...

Tochiro had left one message saying that Loki - squatting in the body of Mimay's brother, Alberich - had opened a door. Only a crack, but it was getting wider every year.

 _A door that was perhaps responsible for letting him back into this odd, brief half-life?_

Last year... last year, Yama had somehow changed the rules. Using the dark matter to save the life of his dying son, something had - briefly - changed.

 _'I don't suppose you managed to work it out yet, my friend?_ ' he asked the dark column of the central computer. He sat down in his old spot and sighed. ' _No... I suppose not. But I think our young Harlock here needs some help... I remember the tales you brought back from Niflheim about this forward-to-the-past faction... They've used the remains of our fleet, and had your enhancements to back-engineer... messing around with unstable dimensional gateways and high energy physics. You once told me there were very sound reasons the universe collapsed in on itself so quickly after the big bang... I'm just wishing I'd paid more attention...'_

 _And here's the irony... whatever this Loki is doing could destroy the entire universe... and here I am, the poster boy for nihilistic destruction, wondering how the fuck to stop him..._

A mild shock jolted him through the right thigh, and he looked down to see the bird rubbing its beak on a wing before lifting its head and fixing him with a beady-eyed, aggrieved stare. _That'll teach you to stick your beak where you shouldn't, you daft bird..._

It squawked at him, and he reached down to run a misty hand over its back. After initially jumping back with a caw of surprise, it eventually leaned into the static petting. _Daft thing... guess this time round it's just you and me, hey? Your new perch is currently trying to fly into a dark matter shield to knock out an alien drive that was invented back when humans were still banging rocks together..._

He stood up. _And since it seems this time round there's sod all else to do, I might as well see how well that piss-poor excuse for an assassin can fly..._


	10. Day 10

2987

Same planet, different year… at least according to the view from the arched leaded windows in the captain's quarters. Harlock stood next to the orrery and watched the sun go down behind a low range in the distance.

 _Tabito, huh? Famous for a tea that only the locals could love…_

 _We acquired a box on a raid once… probably still stuffed at the back of the kitchen stores, after a spectacularly poor reception..._ _Unless someone had needed to clean out a coolant sump._..

The view kept him from watching the couple standing not six feet away, Kei playfully trying to button Yama into a surprisingly tasteful jacket.

 _Well… not_ looking _as though I was watching. Window reflections don't count..._

 _And at least he's not raided my wardrobe…_

There was something strangely erotic about the playful way she arranged his collar and cravat to her liking whilst he pretended to object to her fussing.

Who knew being dressed could be a turn-on… usually the foreplay was limited to getting clothing _off…_

 _But then it helps if you… oh… have an actual relationship with someone, as opposed to just…_

 _Quit stalling and just call it what it was… fucking._

Yama's hands on Kei were gentle, even when he did pull her close, squealing when he deliberately tickled her through her sweater. Their touching was sure, and confident, and uninhibited… but there was nothing crude or sordid or hurried about the way they caressed each other. Total trust… which given Kei's history, put the brat up in his estimation.

 _Just please… not on my desk...?_

'We'll be late if you carry on like this!' Kei slapped a roving hand which was cupping her left ass-cheek. 'You promised Selen we wouldn't be late. .. and Anita won't be happy with us if we let her hard work get cold…' She reached again for Yama's cravat, which he'd slyly unknotted and drawn around her neck to pull her close. 'Besides - didn't you want to get off the ship before the graveyard shift? I seem to recall you mentioning wanting to avoid any ghostly body parts penetrating you this year…'

'And on that image,' Yama drawled, 'I think my libido just ran for the hills…'

 _...you and me both… You're not remotely my type… that boy-next-door vibe just cries out for too much commitment. Even if you_ weren't _family._

Kei smiled. 'Yattaran told Ali he was on his own for the ghost hunting this year… he was off the ship the moment Anita asked for volunteers to run the supplies out to Selen's ramen shop…'

Yama snorted. 'It wasn't _his_ chest that felt as though it had been violated…' he shuddered. 'I could go another lifetime or three without having my innards fondled like that again…' Then he grinned. 'But did you catch the look on Yattaran's face? The only time he's ever looked that horrified was when Wattaru stepped on the scale model of the original Deathshadow 4 he'd been scratch-building…'

She smiled with him. 'So long as he's not… you know… watching?' Kei sounded a little nervous at the thought. 'Can you feel anything?'

'That isn't you? Nope. Besides, why would a ghost want to watch us necking?' He dropped a peck on the base of her neck where it met her shoulder..

 _Because vicarious pleasures are all that's left? Or because this ghost was a lonely, bitter bastard even in life who refused to let anyone get close apart from one friend - and no, despite the gossip in Fleet HQ, they hadn't been lovers. Just a couple of kids who'd stood by each other when no-one else would… the pretty boy and the freak…_

'I guess it's just the idea that he could be breathing down our necks whilst we're making out…' she frowned slightly.

'If he's breathing down either of our necks whilst we're "embarrassing the crew", as Ali puts it, then frankly I'm going to be looking for a way to give a ghost a black eye…' Yama told her firmly, though there was a smile playing around his lips. 'Anyway, it might be freaky and more than a little unnerving to know your old captain's hanging around occasionally, but surely an officer and a gentleman would never peek?'

 _Bet?_

 _Besides, "officer and a gentleman" isn't a description I've flown under in over a century, brat… Which bit of "pirate" did you not get?_

Belatedly he realised that Yama's eye was looking straight at him over Kei's shoulder, and that normally slightly amiable mouth currently sported the beginnings of a frown.

'I've just got to find that new gun belt you picked up for me - wait for me in the hangar?' Yama asked disingenuously, disengaging. Kei gave him a sharp look, then shook her head and sighed.

'Fine. But not too long…' She sashayed from the room, her ass currently encased in cream leather ( _and it probably had cows lining up to die to cover it._..) She gave Yama a suspicious glance back over her shoulder as she left the room.

Yama jabbed a finger in the watcher's direction. 'You - move about three feet to your left and stand still for a moment…'

 _ **You're**_ _ordering_ _ **me**_ _around? And put that finger down before I work out a way to break it..._

'If you _please_ \- Tochiro came up with something to help us talk.'

 _Oh. Well why didn't you just say so? Or is Mimay's bad habit rubbing off on you?_

He moved, and felt a tingling sensation as a pale blue light enveloped him. He held out his hands, noticing the misty body he usually presented seemed a little more opaque.

'No, it isn't rubbing off. I was just pissed that you were, indeed, lurking. In my private quarters…'

 _ **Your**_ _quarters? Maybe in another century..._

Instead of articulating the irritation, he settled on: 'You can hear me?'

'Just.' Yama perched on the edge of the desk, one foot on the floor, the other swinging freely. 'As if you're a room away.' He ignored the pointed stare directed at his disrespect for the antique. 'Something in your eye? You seem to be squinting at me…'

'That's _my_ desk you've planted your arse on… and for the record, it isn't a replica.' He looked round, and couldn't see anything particularly special about the spot he'd been directed to, even above his head.

'It's an adjustment to the EM wavelengths via the lighting in the room - I just wondered if you'd move if I told you to. My bad. Oh - and it's _my_ desk - I seem to recall someone buggering off in the middle of a battle and leaving me with this ship and - I assume - its contents - about ten years ago?'

'Punk… I _died_ , brat… not like I had a lot of choice in the matter… you've grown quite a mouth - and a backbone - over the past few years.'

'That first part seems debatable. As for my attitude - it's been one of those decades and I had a pretty steep learning curve…' Yama jabbed that annoying finger at his ghostly watcher again. 'Tochiro says you're rarely around for longer than an Earth hour - and this has about fifteen minutes before it drains the dark matter battery he built as a prototype so we don't have long to talk. But he's prepared a message for you, just in case, in the Central Computer room - as apparently is _usual_...' The emphasis on that last word left no doubt that the Arcadia's new(ish) captain was _not_ happy about things happening behind his back...

'You didn't want Kei to share this?'

'I kept this between me and Tochiro for now - at least until I knew if it worked. She's been torn since we found out you were lurking between wanting to hug you and nailing your balls to the nearest bulkhead. Frankly it could go either way.'

He couldn't resist. 'You picked up her up on the rebound, huh?'

The glare that he earned was one he used to see reflected in a mirror, only hazel instead of brown, and Yama's gloved fingers curled into fists _._

 _Hit a nerve, did I? My bad..._

'Really? You want me to go back to Tochiro and ask him how I can make you tangible enough to pummel the stuffing out of? Because trust me, he's just game enough to do it… he knows you too well…'

Harlock smiled, remembering. 'He would as well… some of our disagreements could get messy…' He shook his head. 'But as you said, time's short. What's now so damned urgent you feel you finally wanted to make contact?' He paused. 'Unless it's to say thank you for leaving you a truly terrifying reputation to live up to, an awesome battleship and a smoking hot XO…?'

'You can keep that hot sweaty eyeball off my wife… and I might have been more grateful, if the package hadn't also included Ali…' Yama retorted.

He couldn't resist the smirk. Especially when he noticed a fist curling again. It earned him another glare, but Yama - _unlike most of the family_ \- wasn't one to nurse a grudge, and after a pause - _is he counting to ten under his breath_? - he continued: 'Tochiro briefed you on the Loki situation, I think?'

Harlock nodded. 'He thinks this Gate of Yedar has something to do with my… unique situation…' He eyed Yama up suspiciously. 'You're taking this rather well, rookie.'

Yama shrugged. 'I knew there was something odd going on - I just had bigger things to worry about..'

'Really?' he drawled in reply. 'From where I was standing those "bigger things" seem to be shagging the arse off my XO, single-handedly trying to repopulate the galaxy, and defiling my furniture in the process…'

Yama snorted. 'You _died_ \- remember? Deal. And it wasn't just your furniture… it's amazing how much fun a limber couple can have in a Space wolf cockpit… or in the captain's seat… or up against the wheel…'

His own hand was curling now, and from the growing smart-ass smile The Brat was well aware of the reaction. He relaxed the offending hand. 'Funny boy. Are you that eager to have your lungs "fondled" again?'

Yama leaned back even more casually. 'Not really. But like Ali says - sometimes I just can't help myself…'

A snort. 'That smart mouth has gotten several of our ancestors' lives cut short over the centuries. You'd think it would have been selected out of the gene pool by now…'

Yama laughed. 'Not noticeably, if my brood are any indication. But sometimes, it's _so_ worth it…' He smiled, a little sadly. 'I didn't know for sure you _were_ actually hanging around until Mamoru saw you, and somehow the two of you interacted… but compared to some of the things I've seen since you "went away", this is actually rather tame - if a little creepy - oh - and please don't touch me again… _ever…_ though thanks for the save back there.'

'Freaked Yattaran out…'

They shared a grin.

'That scream he let out put the wind up half the bridge crew. Ali's not letting that one go anytime soon…'

 _Well what do you know… looks like my shit-eating smirk_ does _run in the family… pity we couldn't have made a team… The Fleet wouldn't know what hit it..._

'But to get back to the subject in hand, yeah, we have a problem, a big one. Not that it's going to land anytime soon - by Yattaran's best calculation we have about another fifteen years before the Gate opens fully.'

 _Another fifteen_ hours… _for me…_

'What happens then?'

Yama's face was suddenly bleak, shorn of all humour. 'Then? All hell breaks loose. Literally…'

 _No. He wasn't joking, was he_ … 'Talk to me. Take it from the beginning…'

Yama took a deep breath. 'How much did you ever know about just where - and when - the Nibelung came from?'


	11. Day 11

2988

' _Despite a galaxy-wide alert and manhunt, the whereabouts of the Prometheus are still a mystery. The new Admiral of the SDF fleet, Rokuro Oki, has been tasked with tracking down the missing battleship and eliminating her captain, Colonel Dantetsu Ichimonji, and his Executive Officer, Henry Douglas._

 _The Prometheus infamously opened fire on the new headquarters of the Exploratory Corps for the SDF four standard weeks ago, destroying the entire complex, and killing fifteen hundred civilian contractors and the visiting dignitaries. Chancellor - formerly Professor Doppler, the head of Doppler Corp and newly installed head of state for planet Shaitan, had left the building only minutes before the attack, following a public argument with the project co-ordinator, Professor Oedo. In a press statement last week, the chancellor said…'_

'Turn that off before I put a blaster bolt through it,' Ali said in a disgusted voice. 'I can live without looking at that pointy-eared bastard's smug face.'

Maji picked up the remote from next to Ali's elbow, switched the viewscreen off, and placed it back down in the same place.

'You idle bugger…' Yattaran snorted from his place on the opposite side of the mess hall table.

'It's a crock, is what it is. Dan can be a grade-one asshole, but this? This stinks of Hechi's handiwork. Danny and Hank are no traitors, or murderers…' He balled up a napkin and threw it at the screen. 'I'd love to know who spilled the beans about his family tree… they ain't bloody stopped harkin' on about him being the old captain's descendent and our Harlock's something-removed cousin since that little gem got out... '

Harlock watched from a corner of the room, curious. The warp footage of the battleship opening fire had been… disturbing. The facility had had no defences, and the reporting hadn't spared the scenes of carnage, bodies and parts everywhere as the optical cannon had lanced down from low orbit. Surgical carnage. Weapons designed for long-range ship-to-ship engagements in the void tore through buildings down to the bedrock and below as though they were paper. The bubbling lava from the molten crust had finished what the cannon didn't.

The parallel wasn't lost on him… Even knowing he wasn't seen, he flinched.

 _But the Gaia Sanction had had it coming… if there was collateral damage, then to quote their own propaganda, sometimes you need to send a hard message… they should have thought of that before heading for Earth for the photo-op with their families on board…_

 _Yeah… still trying to sell yourself that one? There's a reason you spent so much time in seedy bars with cheap whiskey and used-up whores after the war… The council ships…? Those he could live with._

 _But none of it ever drowned out the cries for mercy from those thousands of defenceless ships full of people whose only real crime had been wanting a place to call home._

 _Or a place to die..._

There had been a face in one of the scenes on screen he found he couldn't get out of his mind. A bloodied, terrified little boy about six or seven years old, in the arms of a portly, middle-aged, bearded man in an SDF science division uniform, himself looking as though he'd been put through a blender.

The little boy looked so like Yama's sons, he had little trouble guessing there was a family connection.

 _I didn't know you, Dan… but if you did open fire on your own son, I don't envy you when Yama catches up to you. And he will… If you two were friends, he will…_

Ali's mouth was open again. 'Where's the captain, anyway? Thought he'd have called down by now.' He stood up, pushing the chair away with no attempt to lift it, causing a fingernails down blackboard screech. The other two winced.

'Infirmary, checking on Takuma and Hank's little girl, Lisa,' Yattaran replied. The big guy reached into a box on the table, rummaging round before his huge, but always surprisingly delicate fingers pulled out a sprue and began to carefully trim the contents from the moulding. 'Just when you think this shitheap of a galaxy can't get any worse, now we got people wading in on _kids_ …'

'Luna said they were lucky to get out alive…' Ali replied grimly. 'Takuma's arm was broken in two places, and those kids damn near brained him - bloody ten year olds chucking stones at a six year old! Professor Oedo told her it was one of the parents threw Lisa against a wall for fuck's sake. She's an eight year old _girl_ …' he was almost snarling. 'Bloody Doppler again, whipping up that media witch hunt - and he's the bastard who put up the names and pics of the families; I'd stake my left nut on _that_. The Prof told Harlock the rest of the teachers just stood there, and when he blew up at them, told him no-one would lift a finger to help terrorists. Terrorists! They're _kids_!'

'Captain'll take care of 'em until this all dies down,' Maji said quietly. 'Couple more orphans amongst Selen's brood won't be noticed. You caught Doppler's "sins of the fathers" rant?' Maji asked in his soft voice. 'He's been talking about invoking a version of Article 53…'

Harlock flinched. _One of the reasons Maya had bolted with their sons after the war… or rather, the one she'd felt bold enough to throw in his face. The law which held the families of traitors and terrorists equally responsible for their actions, and subject to the same penalty. Death_.

'Wish I'd managed to get off a better shot at him and that slimy, arse-licking greasy-haired one-eyed toady, Hechi…' Ali ground out, fists clenched. 'One day…'

'When it comes, I'll have your back.'

Yama had entered quietly, unnoticed until he spoke, standing just inside the doorway.

'Ghost time?' Ali asked, with an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgement.

'Standing over in the corner,' Yama replied with a quick hand wave in the direction of the shadows Harlock was loitering in. 'And looks as if he has been for a while…'

Was it really bad to smirk at the way Yattaran went as white as a sheet and made a run - or rather waddle - to the door? Or the way Maji was looking like some creature caught in the gunsights?

Hell, even Ali looked a little nervous.

'Pull yourselves together and get your backsides up to the war room, you old ladies. My daughter's made of sterner stuff than you three…'

'Nami's inherited the worst parts of both of you, that's why,' Ali snorted. 'She's almost as devious and manipulative as Mamoru…'

Yama just smiled beatifically. 'If you can't outwit a seven year old boy and his five year old sister, Ali, that's your problem. My children are _adorable…'_

'They're _Harlocks_..' Ali replied bluntly. 'Adorable ain't the word anyone would use to describe any of ya… You rock pretty like it's going out of fashion, but once you get to work no-one's safe...' He glared over at the shadows where the previous holder of the name had been standing. 'And yeah, I'm talking to _you_ , _captain…'_

Yama shared a smirk with his namesake. 'Then try looking this way. He's standing right next to me…'

Ali glared at a spot somewhere between ghost and current captain. ' _Now_ you tell me? And just how are you doing that anyway?'

'Tochiro modulated a signal to the new frequency ship-wide. Have dark matter, will travel.'

'So why can't the rest of us see him then?' He waved a hand around near Yama, nowhere near his phantom counterpart.

'Dark matter contamination. I got an extra dose on Earth, remember? At least it's one theory… Tochiro says most of you who were on board back then could probably see him, if he made an effort…'

Ali sniggered. 'Not much chance of that then, I'm guessing, since the lying bastard could barely be bothered to give a shit when he was alive…?'

 _Really_? Sharing a look with his counterpart, Harlock concentrated, reached out a gloved fist and thumped his former crewman on the nose.

The result was pretty predictable: although it didn't actually connect, the dark matter discharge was enough to give Ali a nasty shock. With an outraged bellow Ali backpeddled and lost his footing, landing hard on his ass on the floor. Maji spilled his beer in his lap, and a shrill shriek from behind Yama caused the younger captain to jump at least a foot sideways.

'Dammit, Yattaran! I'm already down an eye, I'd rather not lose an eardrum as well!' Yama held his hand out to Ali, who was rubbing his affronted proboscis and glaring at where he thought the offending attacker was standing.

Ali took Yama's hand and let himself be helped to his feet. 'You fucking bastard… that sodding well _hurt…'_ He glared at where Harlock had been standing. 'And you - ' he jabbed a finger at Yattaran. 'I've seen you face down an entire squad of whacky, skeletal dial-heads - as in _actual skeletons_ \- without turning a hair on yer balding head, but a bit of phantom hanky panky from our kind-of-not-dead-but-not-alive asshole of an ex-captain has you squeaking like a mouse…? Bloody well grow a pair… it's embarrassing!'

Harlock tsked at his namesake. 'Is that any way to speak to his captain?'

Ali jabbed his finger at what must have assumed was the ghost's position. 'Is he pulling that I'm the captain-be-a-good-boy-and-shut-up routine?' he asked.

Yama shrugged. 'Not in so many words, but close enough…'

'Yeah - well tell him _he_ ain't _my_ captain anymore... ' The offending digit jabbed at Yama. ' _You_ are.'

 _Hey… when did_ my _resident pain in the ass become_ your _bosom buddy, brat?_

'He's actually standing near my right shoulder, and he _can_ hear you…' Yama pointed out mildly.

'Huh. Fergit it. War room, did you say? I'm guessing the lanky bastard'll be joining us?' He pushed past Yama and grabbed Yattaran by the shoulder of his sweater. 'He's had twelve years to work on his apology, it'd better be a good one... C'mon, big boy. Ali'll protect you from the big, scary, ghosty…'

 _Apology? For what?_ _Your self-deception wasn't my problem, Ali... It's not like anyone ever asked me the right questions..._

Maji slipped Yama an apologetic smile and sneaked past warily, almost jogging to keep up with his crewmates. Yama just sighed.

'Yattaran will flatten him for that once he finally gets his head round this…' Harlock pointed out with a knowing smirk.

Yama answered it with his own matching version. 'Oh, believe me, I know…' He grinned 'Want me to make sure we capture it for posterity?'

'With the fate of the universe in the balance, don't you have more… pressing considerations?' he asked slyly.

Yama just _looked_ at him.

'Fair point.' Harlock pointed at the direction the crewmen had taken. 'War room?'

'War room.'


	12. Day 12

2989

Exact timings on a galactic scale could sometimes be a little off, when bound to the solar cycle of one small world… The War room - actually what had been the secondary battle bridge when Arcadia had been Deathshadow 4 - was deserted.

Briefly.

A small head topped by brown hair peeked around the door, shortly followed by the rest of a small boy, maybe eight or nine years old. Keen hazel eyes stared at the Arcadia's resident phantom, mouth wide open in surprise.

'You might want to close that, kid, or something will fly in.'

It was promptly shut with a snap.

'I'm not a kid,' the boy retorted, pulling himself up to his full height, chest out. 'I'm Mamoru.'

The sick little boy? Well, he was looking a lot healthier, if a little thin.

'Harlock. Pleased to finally meet you. Aren't you missing a couple of things?' he asked, 'like a couple of siblings?'

'Wattaru fell asleep, and Taro and Nami are bugging tonight's babysitter so l can sneak out ,' the little boy said in all seriousness. Very earnest, intelligent hazel eyes stared up at him from under a thick lock of hair that seemed perpetually falling over his right eye.

 _Snap_ …

'And you need someone on point for what nefarious purpose exactly?'

'Nef…? Oh! No! I'm not up to anything bad. This time.' Mamoru held up a small bottle, and a little box. 'Ali said he couldn't be arsed to fill your glass this year, so I thought it wouldn't be fair to stop.'

 _Cheers, Jones… you're all heart..._

'I'm sure he'd get an earful from your mother about using that language in front of you…' Harlock murmured. Mamoru just grinned, and he had the distinct feeling the kid knew bloody well he wasn't supposed to be repeating words like that.

 _Another born rebel, huh? I suppose I should apologise for not warning you of the dangers of reproducing, Yama, but what the hell…_

Mamoru placed his burdens on the table, and smiled up at Harlock. 'I know you're just a ghost, but it can't be nice being stuck like that. Mum says you wanted to be free, but you're kind of trapped here, aren't you?'

 _Out of the mouths..._

'Not quite. And there are different kinds of freedom.' He smiled down at the child. 'Thank you.'

Mamoru gave a short sharp nod, then looked up again, as if thinking something over.

'Spit it out. I don't bite.'

'I just… I - we - we thought about writing you a note... ' A toe-drag across the floor, head down before looking back up again and blurting out in a rush: 'Would you be able to give our love to Yumi, our baby brother and Uncle Rei? We miss them _so_ much, and Taro and me… we just thought… on the other side… if…'

Harlock knelt down until he was at eye level with the boy, careful not to touch, given the reaction Ali and Yama had had to the contact. 'I honestly don't remember anything when I'm here, but I promise you, if they are there and we meet, I'll tell them for you. And a Harlock never breaks his word.'

The trusting, beaming smile that earned didn't bring a lump to his non-existent throat. Not even close.

 _I hope they can keep you safe, so that smile never fades, kid…_

'There you are!'

A woman's voice from the doorway, slightly scolding. Mamoru gave Harlock another smile and ran over to the tall, athletic auburn haired beauty who stood just inside the room.

 _Not bad… reminds me a little of the red-haired hellion… family? But can't shake the feeling I've seen her somewhere before…_

 _Why do I keep thinking of law enforcement..._

'Auntie Selen!' A squeal and a leap took the boy into her arms, and his own small arms wound round her neck in a vice-like grip.

'Ease up a little, Mamoru! That's quite a grip you've got now…' She gently disentangled him and set him down. 'Your mother's in the portside corridor with Taro - get yourself over there and let her know your guest has arrived.'

Small child removed, she strode over to the table and looked at the contents. 'I see Ali started a tradition…' She raised her eyes to look at Harlock. 'Well, you're a little faint, but I can see you. Your wanted poster doesn't do you justice - I can see where Harlock and the boys get their looks.'

Wanted posters… Huh. He'd have snapped his fingers if they were still real. 'That's where I know you from… I thought you looked familiar - Ra Andromeda Selenium… Boss of the Millennial Thieves? For the record, neither does yours. And I think your hair was longer.'

'It's Selen. and I cut my hair when my husband died.'

Her hair curled slightly just below her shoulders, a light auburn which picked up the light and framed her face nicely. He let his gaze wander lower. A wine coloured lightweight sweater which clung nicely to her breasts. Narrow waisted, long legs encased in cream slacks. Practical, simple and elegant. His gaze moved back upwards.

 _Has to be at least seventy, but still looks thirty… Guess those rumours about Lar Metal's genetic tampering were true…_

Her eyes were compelling. Serene, but clouded with sorrow. More than a little wise. But there was a well disguised emptiness there which he recognised.

The look you get when someone tears your heart out by the roots and leaves nothing but an empty cage behind.

Something in that gaze made him sure she saw the same loss in his own eye.

'There was a time your Millennial Thieves and my crew were the two most wanted groups in known space,' he continued. 'I remember the fuss - fifty years ago? The "Lost Queen"...'

'Hardly "lost",' she replied softly. She sat on the edge on the table, one foot on the floor, one crooked over the corner. 'I _ran_ when they came to crown me. A sixteen year old girl terrified of losing herself to several hundred years of other women's memories… In some ways, this current mess is all my fault.' She finished on a sadder note, looking troubled.

'I'm not sure from what I've heard that's true…' he began.

She smiled sadly. 'Isn't it? You and I are probably the poster children for the Law of Unintended Consequences - or should that be Good Intentions Gone Bad? My fear of being wiped out as a person led to me eventually putting my sister on the throne I abandoned - and the crown I didn't want. If not for that, our people wouldn't have been mechanised, and Loki's use of the life force of hundreds of thousands of people…' she hung her head, and he took a step forward, unaccountably tempted to console her.

'I did a lot of things in my youth I regret,' she continued. 'I fought back, and a lot of people got hurt. You know, you tell yourself it's for the greater good, but that's no comfort to the dead you drag around with you, is it?'

'I've never been dragged down by _my_ dead,' he retorted.

She blinked. 'Really? My mother had an extensive file on you in our archives - probably more complete than anything the Gaia Sanction had after the war. I always wondered, in the dark hours of the night. .. why did you fight? So much death, and for what? Thousands of ships headed for Earth, but most of them were unarmed. Billions died in that war, and you fought on the side…'

'I know which side I fought for. Call it duty. Or paying the rent. Obligations carry weight in this family.' He turned away to look out of the porthole. 'A friend once warned me that you should only fight for what you truly believe, deep in your heart. I ignored him. The rest is history.'

'That friend… would be Tochiro?'

He didn't reply.

'He's a good man. You were fortunate in your friends…'

'A pity _he_ wasn't..' he breathed. 'Don't try to gain any insight into your own sins by looking at mine, Selen. I only truly regret one death, and that one weighs more than all the rest together.'

Her answering smile was a little forced. 'So here we are… Two rebels who outlived our times. Both of us at least partly responsible for this Nibelung threat… Do you think we - and by that I mean all of us - have the slightest chance of stopping Loki?'

'You have fourteen years to work something out. You have Tochiro, Yattaran… smart guys, both of them.'

'It was easier before Professor Daiba died,' she sighed. 'His work on Niflheim's history and legends was key to solving the mystery of just what lies beyond that gate.'

'Yama seems to think it's an afterlife…'

She smiled sadly. 'If it was, would you tell?'

'Truthfully, I can't answer that.'

'Professor Daiba used to tell my children stories… of warriors restored to life in a cauldron, brought back to fight a war, but unable to speak of what they'd seen…' she shared that sad smile with him again. 'After Rei - Zero died… and my youngest sons… I used to wish there was a way to bring them back…'

'What would you have done, if you could?' he asked, curious.

She stared past him. 'Anything. Everything... we were a part of each other for so long... he'd been with me every step of the way, even before we became lovers. Losing him was like losing a part of myself. I'll never be whole again.'

 _Smoke, fire... the ship being torn apart by her sister vessels, and he was kneeling on the floor next to Tochiro, begging him to hold on..._

'I think you understand...' Selen whispered. She gave a forced little laugh. 'Even now, if not for our youngest children still needing me, there are days I wish I could join him...' Her eyes were raised to meet his gaze again. 'Tell me - does it get any easier, with time? After a hundred years...?'

Harlock looked away from her. 'A thousand years wouldn't be enough,' he replied hoarsely. 'Immortality... it just makes it worse.'

Footsteps in the corridor announced the arrival of the rest of the little group. Absently, without thinking, Harlock placed his wispy hand, still in an equally intangible glove, on top of Selen's pale fingers where they rested on the tabletop, remembering too late the effect...

...his hand passed through hers, but slowly, and without a hint of a spark.


End file.
